Mascot tail twirling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A hand-held twirling apparatus including a handle of sufficient size for gripping by a user and a tail-shaped object. A coupling member extends between the handle and the tail-shaped object. The coupling member enables the tail-shaped object to twirl about a longitudinal axis of the handle.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/445,322 filed Jan. 12, 2017, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application generally relates to hand-held apparatus for use by spectators and, more particularly, to a hand-held mascot tail apparatus for twirling by a spectator at a sporting event or other gathering.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Spectators at sporting events often express their reaction to the performance of a player, a team, or an official at suitable times during a game. Hand-held objects such as programs, towels, elongated balloons, or commercially-available foam hands are commonly seen being held aloft and waved by spectators at various times during a sporting event, and provide a noticeable visual reaction to a specific incident. The “terrible towel”, a rally towel which is waved and rotated by fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, is exemplary of this type of team support. Rally towels have now become prominent at a great many sporting events, and have migrated to other sports contests in addition to football.

One of the problems with rally towels is that it can be difficult for a fan to initially get the towel to twirl and then to retain the towel in a twirling motion. Manually twirling a towel by using one's hand and arm is a difficult maneuver to maintain without injury or tiring of the arm. Additionally, due to the type of spinning or twirling by the individual fan, the towel may fold or curl over on itself as the towel is only held in one corner. Another drawback of rally towels is that the device is limited to use in support of a single team. The towel has a fixed color and printed name and/or emblem corresponding to the particular team, necessitating that the fan purchase different rally towels for each different team that they support.

Many of today's sports teams have an animal, reptile, or other creature or character possessing a tail, as a team mascot. These mascots include the University of Kentucky wildcat, the Cincinnati Bengal tiger, and the University of Florida gator. Images of these mascots evoke strong supportive reactions from the team's fan base. Oftentimes, fans will dress for games in animal costumes or paint their faces or bodies to mimic their team's mascot.

The apparatus described herein eliminates the problems of a rally towel while invoking the strong fan sentiment felt for a team mascot. In particular, a hand-held cheering apparatus is provided having a handle and an attached mascot tail. The mascot tail is flexibly attached to the handle to enable the tail to be twirled about using the handle. An assembly is also provided including a handle and one or more interchangeable tails. The tails can be switched out and separately connected to the handle to allow the handle to be used with multiple different mascot tails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus described herein eliminates the problems of a rally towel while invoking the strong fan sentiment felt for a team mascot. In particular, the presently disclosed embodiments are generally directed to a hand-held twirling apparatus having a handle and a flexibly attached tail-shaped object. The tail-shaped object is attached by a flexible coupling member to allow the tail-shaped object to be twirled relative to the handle. Additionally, the disclosed embodiments include an assembly in which one or more elongated tail-shaped objects are interchangeably attachable to a handle. Tails corresponding to different team mascots can be switched in and out of the handle to enable the apparatus to be used in cheering for many different teams.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be more readily understood from a detailed description of some example embodiments taken in conjunction with the following figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary hand-held twirling apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the handle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a hand-held twirling apparatus assembly; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary hand-held twirling apparatus, showing the apparatus being twirled in a counter-clockwise direction.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, and use of the apparatus disclosed herein. One or more examples of these non-limiting embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the apparatus described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting embodiments. The features illustrated or described in connection with one non-limiting embodiment may be combined with the features of other non-limiting embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

Turning now to the drawing figures, wherein like numbers indicate like features through the views, FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus 10 for twirling a tail-shaped object 12 using a handle 14. Tail-shaped object 12 can have different shapes, patterns or colors to represent a number of different mascots from a variety of different teams. These mascots may include, without limitation, mammals, reptiles, and birds, as well as any other creature, cartoon character, or inanimate object having a tail that can be represented in a three-dimensional format and attached to a handle. In the example embodiments shown in the drawing figures, the tail-shaped object 12 has an elongated shape and is made of textile, cloth, or other material composed of woven or felted fibers which may be made of wool, hair, silk, flax, cotton, or other types of natural or synthetic fibers In some embodiments, tail-shaped object 12 may be composed of a plush material. The plush material can have a variety of different pile lengths to resemble different types of animal fur. The particular type of material for the tail-shaped object 12 may be selected in accordance with the identity of the mascot tail to be represented. In some embodiments, tail-shaped object 12 may be stuffed with a soft or resilient material which may comprise, for example, synthetic fiber batting, cotton, straw, wood wool, and/or plastic pellets.

The handle 14 is composed of a rigid material such as, for example, plastics, metals, wood, or similar materials. The handle 14 is of sufficient size to allow for gripping with a hand. In the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing figures, the handle 14 has a cylindrical shape with a longitudinal axis 16 and an opening 26 in one end. The handle 14 may include exterior grooves 20, or another type of surface feature, to facilitate a secure, comfortable grip on the handle. Foam or another type of soft material coating may be applied to the exterior of the handle 14 to increase the comfort and security of the grip. While handle 14 is depicted having a cylindrical shape, it is envisioned that the handle can have any number of other configurations which allow a user to grip and manipulate the handle in a circular motion.

A coupling member 22 extends from a proximal end of the tail-shaped object 12 for tethering the tail-shaped object to the handle 14. Coupling member 22 is comprised of a flexible material, such as, for example, string, braided fiber, or elastic cord, as well as any other material having sufficient strength and flexibility to support the tail-shaped object 12 and prevent the object from separating from the handle 14 as it is swung in a circular or twirling motion. In some embodiments, coupling member 22 may be a spring made from a metal, plastic or other material. The opposite end of coupling member 22 is affixed to a cap 24. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the coupling member 22 extends through an opening in cap 24 and is retained on the proximal side of the cap by a locking nut 32. In a first exemplary embodiment, in which the apparatus 10 utilizes a single, tail-shaped object, cap 24 may be glued or otherwise fixedly attached to handle 14.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, cap 24 includes a plug end 30 to enable a tail-shaped object 12 to be releasably attached to the handle 14. As shown in FIG. 2, handle 14 includes an opening 26 at one end for receipt of plug end 30. The interior of handle opening 26 may be shaped or coated to form a friction or force fit of the plug end 30 within the opening. Alternatively, the exterior of plug end 30 and the interior of handle opening 26 may have mating screw threads to enable cap 24 to be screwed into the handle opening, to attach the tail-shaped object 12 to the handle 14. Alternatively, plug end 30 may be comprised of a pliable or deformable material having a ribbed structure, as shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, when cap 24 is inserted into handle opening 26, plug end 30 will initially deform under the insertion pressure. Once inside the handle opening 26, plug end 30 will expand into contact with the sides of the opening, to produce a press fit and thereby lock the plug within the opening. To release the tail-shaped object 12 from handle 14, the plug end 30 may be pulled or unscrewed from the handle opening 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus 10 described herein may be part of an assembly 40 of multiple tail-shaped objects 12 interchangeable with a single handle 14. In a multiple tail assembly 40, each of the tail-shaped objects, identified as 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c in FIG. 3, includes a cap 24 attached by a coupling member or tether 22 to a base end of the object. The different tail-shaped objects 12 a, 12 b and 12 c may be swapped out of the handle 14 by removing the cap 24 of a first tail-shaped object from the handle opening 26, and inserting the cap of a second tail-shaped object into the handle opening. While FIG. 3 shows three different tail-shaped objects 12 a, 12 b, and 12 c in the assembly 40, any number of different tail-shaped objects may be included within an assembly, and interchangeably attached to the handle 14, thereby enabling the tail-shaped objects to be collected individually and added to the assembly at different times.

To twirl apparatus 10, a user manually grips handle 14. Initially, the tail-shaped object 12 is in a downward position, with flexible coupling member 22 drawn down over the side of handle 14 by the weight of the object. With a hand gripping handle 14, the user begins to rotate the handle 14, using a circular hand motion. The handle 14 can be rotated either clockwise as indicated by arrow 42, or counterclockwise, as indicated by arrow 44. As the handle 14 rotates, the coupling member 22 exerts an inward centripetal force on the tail-shaped object 12, drawing the object into an upward, outwardly directed position, as shown in FIG. 4. As the rotation force increases on handle 14, the object rotates in a circle having a radius equal to the length of the coupling member 22 and the tail-shaped object 12. Continued rotation of the handle 14 produces a twirling movement of the tail-shaped object 12 in a circular pattern, as indicated by the arrows 50. FIG. 4 depicts the twirling action of the tail-shaped object when handle 14 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. However, rotating the hand in the opposite direction will produce a similar twirling pattern for the tail-shaped object 12, but in the opposite direction.

While various embodiments have been described herein, it should be apparent that various modifications, alterations, and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the art with attainment of at least some of the advantages. The disclosed embodiments are therefore intended to include all such modifications, alterations, and adaptations without departing from the scope of the embodiments as set forth herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hand-held twirling apparatus comprising: a handle providing sufficient size for gripping by a user; a tail-shaped object; and a coupling member extending between the handle and the tail-shaped object, wherein the coupling member is attached to the handle via a pliable or deformable material that is press fit into a terminal end of the handle so as to secure the tail-shaped object to the handle.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tail-shaped object is stuffed.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the tail-shaped object is constructed of a plush material that resembles fur.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tail-shaped object has an elongated shape.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coupling member further comprises a flexible tether.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the tether enables the tail-shaped object to twirl about a longitudinal axis of the handle.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises attachment means having portions carried by the handle and the coupling member, the attachment means releasably attaching the tail-shaped object to the handle.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the handle has an opening in one end, and the attachment means includes a cap insertable into the handle opening.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the cap is shaped to be retained within the handle opening during twirling of the tail-shaped object relative to the handle.
 10. (canceled)
 11. (canceled)
 12. (cancled)
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tail-shaped object is composed of cloth stuffed with a resilient material.
 14. A hand-held twirling assembly comprising: a handle; two or more tail-shaped objects; and a flexible coupling member extending from each of the two or more tail-shaped objects, wherein each respective coupling member is attachable to the handle via a pliable or deformable material that is press fit into a terminal end of the handle so as to secure the respective tail-shaped object to the handle.
 15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the tail-shaped objects are constructed of a plush material.
 16. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the tail-shaped objects are constructed of cloth stuffed with a soft material.
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled) 